Anyone know of any bad credit lenders? Car went on to final resting place today :-(

[Anonymous]

If there is one in your area and you need to get a good car for a good price, consider checking out one of the chrysler dealers that is being closed down.  I would not normally recomment this, but they have until the 6th I believe to sell off all remaining inventory and since chrysler is not going under currently or closing brands as of now, warranty and stuff should be OK.  UI have heard that these dealers are sellign at 10-20% under their costs just to clear inventory as much as possible prior to eithe closing or going to a used car only shop. 

[MizzB]

FANTASTIC NEWS --- my car is repairable. It's not actually the transmission, its the CV axle a $330.00 repair. Thank goodness. Now I can continue on my plan of saving and give myself a bit more time for credit repair. I guess I shouldn't have been so presumptuous and waited on the full assessment. Thanks for all the great advice everyone!

[Anonymous]

CONGRATS! 

The car you are currently driving, even with repairs, is almost always the cheapest transportation (though at times not the most reliable nor convenient).

Be sure you keep it under a scheduled maintenance plan.  Change oil on schedule.  Keep it tuned.  Drive conservatively and gently.  Have transmission checked and serviced. 

Watch for any issues in overheating, low or high oil pressure, check engine lights.  Letting these things go can present catastrophic problems unchecked.

Keep your tire pressure checked and filled to proper levels.  Get it aligned (Firestone Lifetime alignment is one of the best maintenance values out there.  For $100 to $150 you never have to pay the $50 alignment fee again.)

Lastly, and this is just me, talk nice to your car

[mt2va]

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@MizzB wrote:

Thanks! I just tried RoadLoans and they approved, but at a high interest rate (14%). I guess someone in my situation can't be picky. Anyone else have any suggestions for lenders? Probably wont do much better buts its worth a try.

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That's not too bad considering your scores.  Mine were slightly higher than that when I had to buy a car in December (same deal as yours were mine died 2 weeks in a row & left me stranded in like 12 degree weather on the side of the interstate & would take more than value to fix car).  My interest rate is 21%.  I'm hoping to re-finance soon.

[MizzB]

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@Anonymous wrote:

CONGRATS! 

The car you are currently driving, even with repairs, is almost always the cheapest transportation (though at times not the most reliable nor convenient).

Be sure you keep it under a scheduled maintenance plan.  Change oil on schedule.  Keep it tuned.  Drive conservatively and gently.  Have transmission checked and serviced. 

Watch for any issues in overheating, low or high oil pressure, check engine lights.  Letting these things go can present catastrophic problems unchecked.

Keep your tire pressure checked and filled to proper levels.  Get it aligned (Firestone Lifetime alignment is one of the best maintenance values out there.  For $100 to $150 you never have to pay the $50 alignment fee again.)

Lastly, and this is just me, talk nice to your car

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LOL... I spoke very nicely to my car when I got her back. Ironically, preventative maintenance is what caused my breakdown. Because I've had my car for several years and my manual indicated I should have my CV axle replaced, I did. I heard a bit of a rattling noise and rather than risk being stranded somewhere or causing more damage, I immediately took care of it. The service department at the dealership installed the part wrong and it caused my car to shut down (in the middle of a busy street). Fortunately, the dealership took care of the cost of repairs and towing without incidence. Now, I'll just have to be a bit choosier about who does my preventative maintenance.

[MizzB]

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@mt2va wrote:

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@MizzB wrote:

Thanks! I just tried RoadLoans and they approved, but at a high interest rate (14%). I guess someone in my situation can't be picky. Anyone else have any suggestions for lenders? Probably wont do much better buts its worth a try.

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That's not too bad considering your scores.  Mine were slightly higher than that when I had to buy a car in December (same deal as yours were mine died 2 weeks in a row & left me stranded in like 12 degree weather on the side of the interstate & would take more than value to fix car).  My interest rate is 21%.  I'm hoping to re-finance soon.

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Thankfully in this case it was a small repair. I have the same criteria for moving on to a new car. If its significantly more than the value of the car to fix it, then I'll probably purchase a new car. Don't really want to, but want to make sure I'm safe as well. At this point, if I can get one more year out of it I'll be happy. That would make it ten years and five years w/o payments. Hopefully by then, I'll have my credit in much better shape.

[llecs]

I'm glad everything worked out for you, MizzB. Temptation to buy a car always lingers when that happens. We almost broke down and bought a car yesterday due to the same situation. Our transmission seemed to have problems and DW took our 2003 Chysler T&C w/ 125k mile in to get looked at. Turned out the transmission was OK (knock on wood...never replaced). But the water pump failed, there was some fuel hose problems, and the brakes were worn out. $942 later, the car was fixed. They were generous and gave us a $200 discount and a free rental car for a couple days. But while at the dealership, the thought crossed our minds that we'd rather take $2k or so plus the trade in and throw it as a down payment for a new car. I actually went online and priced them. Temptation everywhere.

[MattH]

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@MizzB wrote:
FANTASTIC NEWS --- my car is repairable. It's not actually the transmission, its the CV axle a $330.00 repair. Thank goodness. Now I can continue on my plan of saving and give myself a bit more time for credit repair. I guess I shouldn't have been so presumptuous and waited on the full assessment. Thanks for all the great advice everyone!

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That is good news, but remember even with major repairs the car you have is almost always the cheapest one available.  I keep my cars forever (currently it's a 2000 Camry which I don't plan on replacing any time soon), so about once a year I will spend somewhere between 800 and 1500 dollars on some major maintenance item.  Now, spending a kilobuck every year on repairs may sound like a lot, but if you do the math it's actually much cheaper than getting a new car or even a late-model used car -- if one has the cash to handle the occasional major repair.

And that is the crux: many people are basically forced to get a newer car because they don't have the cash for a major repair but they do have the credit to finance a car purchase.  To get out of this trap, you can play a simple mind game on yourself: figure out how much more a car purchase would cost you per month with the payments and the higher insurance rate and taxes and so forth.  Open a savings or money-market account and deposit that amount every month just as though you had bought a car.  Then when the next major repair is needed, you'll have the cash.